That sounds too much like an internet fantheory which like a lot of fantheories seems to miss the point. There is no final journey to the tower.

Quote from: Voros;978307Originally Fleming said Bond was Scottish on both sides and then apparently changed his mind. Perhaps he thought it too on the nose?

I don't know...I only know his biography from dust jackets and such.

Just did a bit of Googling out of curiosity. According to the always infallible internet, it does indeed sound like Fleming decided to make Bond Scottish due to Connery, although I imagine knowing Scottish Bonds in reality was probably a factor as well.  Didn't find anything to explain the Swiss mother. Kind of an odd change as it has no effect at all on the character or stories.

Quote from: Voros;978302Considering how old the book is...

Spoiler

The Gunslinger lets a kid die.

I remember it shocking me as a teen. In addition, in the first book the Gunslinger kills an entire town of people, women and children included.

The whole tone of the first book is really stark, strange; cold as ice and mythic. Very atypical for King. The books became more typically King as they progressed and I lost interest because of that.

Thanks! I read part of the first book many many years ago so I needed a reminder.

Quote from: Dumarest;978602I don't know...I only know his biography from dust jackets and such.

Just did a bit of Googling out of curiosity. According to the always infallible internet, it does indeed sound like Fleming decided to make Bond Scottish due to Connery, although I imagine knowing Scottish Bonds in reality was probably a factor as well.  Didn't find anything to explain the Swiss mother. Kind of an odd change as it has no effect at all on the character or stories.

Perhaps he planned on developing that detail in a later book. Either way I agree that Fleming is actually a bit underrated as a writer these days. His prose has an appealing steely sheen to it.

Just noticed one of the posters for the Dark Tower films uses the 'there are more worlds than these' line.

Quote from: Voros;978621Perhaps he planned on developing that detail in a later book. Either way I agree that Fleming is actually a bit underrated as a writer these days. His prose has an appealing steely sheen to it.

From what I understand, You Only Live Twice was supposed to be the last Bond novel.

Fleming's books are eminently readable with no doldrums. I think the paperbacks I have average around 240 pages. Nowadays they'd tell the same story in about 400 pages and jam it full of unnecessary prose.

He's the guy that finally summarized his Bond novels as "Kiss, kiss
Bang, bang."

Quote from: Voros;978596That sounds too much like an internet fantheory which like a lot of fantheories seems to miss the point. There is no final journey to the tower.

Well, you might be extra unhappy with the movie then, because those theories are based off of production material.

 
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What do you mean by production material? You mean people guessing from production material like the image you posted or do you mean leaked scripts or something?

To venture into spolier territory again the image you posted makes sense because:

Spoiler

the narrative of the Dark Tower is a loop. Seems the fantheory as usual is reading too much into 'last.'

Promotion material, not production.  My error there.

Still though...

Spoiler

The narrative isn't an unchanging loop.  Granted we only saw the beginning of one new loop, but it WAS different.  Eventually, Roland could do everything right and truly achieve the Tower.

Obviously it is up to interpretation and I agree there are variations but I don't see the ending of series indicating that what happens happens because Roland does something wrong. I think it is fated to happen. I assume you've read the Robert Burns poem so much of it is based on?

I think that what happens happens not because he did anything wrong, but because he grew a little and didn't abandon his friends so completely like he did before.  

Like a karmic cycle where each time brings you closer to or farther away from enlightenment, each time around brings Roland closer or further from the truth of the Tower.

I think that it is easy to assume either that he will eventually fall to the Crimson King, or that he will gain and lose ground for time and all eternity, or that he will eventually achieve his goal.  Any of those leap to mind as perfectly valid, I just think he will grow and improve.

I haven't read the poem since... god, the late nineties.  I need to do that again.  Before the weekend is out, this is a good goal to set.

Poetry is weird.  And I think I have been permentantly scarred by reading it in middle school.  I read, Child Roland to the Dark Tower came.   And the Rhyme of rhe Ancient Mariner earlier this summer.  

After wards I was underwhelmed.  They felt juvenile.

For Colderidge read Christabel. Nothing juvenile there. I don't think Burns is in the top tier of poets for his era but Child Roland has an elemental power to me personally.

Saw The Dark Tower today at a matinee. It wasn't horrible but very flat and uninspired. Felt more like a pilot for a TV series rather than a film. Also took a very R-rated book and made it into a YA novel. Have since read that a TV series is part of the plan which explains a lot.

Read one reviewer say that it would have been more interesting if Elba and McConnahey had switched roles. I think that's right. The kid actor is pretty good though, so small favours and all that.

Saw the full trailer for It in the previews. That looks promising, hope it delivers.

Quote from: Voros;980957Saw the full trailer for It in the previews. That looks promising, hope it delivers.

I had no idea there was an "It" film coming. I enjoyed the old tv miniseries quite a bit and I loved the book. And I definitely wonder how (and if) they're going to handle some scenes from the novel.